Exploits of Britain's first ever double agent revealed in new book

A British engineer who for decades was regarded as one of Nazi Germany’s most
successful spies was in fact Britain’s first double agent who played an
invaluable role in helping the Allies win the war, a new book has revealed.

Arthur Owens, who was a Welsh nationalist with little sympathy for the United Kingdom, was recruited to spy for Germany during a business trip to Belgium in 1935.

In the build up to the Second World War, Owens, who was given the code name Johnny O’Brien, helped deliver vital information to the Nazi regime about Britain’s military preparations.

But after his activities became known to MI5, he agreed to become the agency’s first double agent, the book claims.

It reveals how Owens played a crucial role in undermining Germany’s espionage efforts and paved the way for a string of successful double agents.

As the most important member of MI5’s XX unit – the two Xs standing for double cross – Agent Snow, as he was known, helped deliver scores of German spies into the arms of the British, according to the book, by renowned espionage writer Nigel West and Welsh author Madoc Roberts.

The spies were then given a choice of betraying their Nazi leaders or facing the firing squad.

Understandably, many chose the former option and spent the war delivering a steady flow of vital information to the Allies including details about troop movements and the keys to cracking German codes.

But Owens’ cover was so deep that neither side were ever wholly confident of his loyalties, and in 1941 his MI5 handlers became so suspicious that they ordered him to be interred in Dartmoor prison.

While he was there, however, he was able to gain the confidence of his fellow German inmates and continued to feed information back to his spymasters.

To the public though he remained a traitor and fearful of revenge attacks from both sides was forced to live out the rest of his life in anonymity first in Canada and later in rural Ireland.

His contribution to the war effort was never really recognised and even when official files were released in the 1970s few people took any notice.

But now the new book attempts to lift the lid on Owens’ exploits and attempts to quantify his contribution to the Allied victory.

The book: Snow – The Double Life of a World War II Spy also reveals for the first time a fascinating Hollywood connection in Owens’ untold story.

Actress Patricia Owens, who earned a place in movie folklore when she starred in the 1958 sci-fi classic The Fly, was actually Owens’s daughter.

But once she made it big in Hollywood she never fully acknowledged who her father was, fearful of a backlash from those who continued to believe he was a traitor.

Mr West said Agent Snow’s contribution both to the war effort and to the development of espionage cannot be over stated.

He said: “Arthur Owens was the foundation of the double cross system which proved so vital in helping the Allies in so many areas. His contribution has never fully been appreciated, but it is hard to overstate how important his role was.”

Mr Roberts added: “Arthur Owens was a very complex character and the more you discover about him the more complex he appears. His contribution to the war effort is undeniable, but what is less certain is what his motivations were. Ultimately he was probably out for himself. But even if his intentions were not entirely honourable, without him the entire course of the war may have been different.”